1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic transactions, and more specifically, to adjustment of a security level of a transaction system.
2. Description of Related Art
Self-checkout systems have become common in retail stores for providing customers with the ability to pay for purchases from a retailer without direct input to the checkout process by retailer personnel. Such systems are an alternative to traditional cashier-staffed checkout systems. In self-checkout systems, customers are permitted to scan barcodes on their items or products for identifying items to be purchased. Items such as fruits and vegetables may be weighed with a scale and manually identified with a user interface device, such as a touchscreen display. Customers may bag items in a bagging area, and a weight observed in the bagging area may be verified against previously stored information to ensure that the correct item is bagged, allowing the customer to proceed only if the observed and expected weights match. Some self-checkout systems also include devices for verifying that the dimensions of an item match an entered identification of the item.
Self-checkout systems are usually unsupervised or supervised by a customer assistant that is responsible for the oversight of multiple self-checkout systems. Accordingly, the interaction between the customer assistant and the customer is limited, if at all. This represents a downfall associated with self-checkout systems as the customer assistant may not be able to examine the customer for any signs of dishonesty that may indicate that the customer is shoplifting or likely to be shoplifting, whereas a cashier at a conventional checkout system would be able to interface with the customer and may be able to determine that a customer is likely dishonest and more prone to shoplifting.
For at least the aforementioned reasons, it is desired to provide systems and methods for aiding customer assistants in monitoring self-checkout environments.